Defense Attorney Bob Motta: Nick Reiner's Only Path To Avoiding Prison AND The Banfield Prosecution's Problems
True Crime Today brings you the defense perspective on two of the biggest murder trials happening right now. Defense attorney Bob Motta breaks down Nick Reiner's insanity defense strategy and exposes where the Brendan Banfield prosecution is bleeding.Nick Reiner's attorney quit. Alan Jackson walked out with 10 outstanding subpoenas, citing disagreements with his client. Nick is now represented by a public defender, reportedly not competent to stand trial, and facing a prosecutor who handled the Menendez resentencing and Robert Durst case. Bob explains what Jackson's exit signals about the defense's internal conflicts and how the defense rebuilds from here. California's insanity standard doesn't require proving Nick didn't know right from wrong — only that he didn't understand the "nature and quality" of his actions. The Carmichael precedent could be key. But Nick's post-offense behavior creates problems. Checking into a hotel. Buying a drink at a gas station. Navigating LA for 24 hours. Bob explains how prosecutors will use that functionality against any insanity claim.Then we turn to Brendan Banfield. The prosecution's own forensics expert contradicted their catfishing theory — and was transferred out of the unit. The lead detective was reassigned. The prosecutor was removed after being cited for drinking at 8 a.m. Twelve homicide detectives had 24 different theories before the au pair flipped. Bob explains how you build reasonable doubt from that wreckage.Juliana Peres Magalhaes is the prosecution's entire case. She lied for a year. Then she got a deal: manslaughter, time served, go home to Brazil. Her sentencing is after Banfield's trial to ensure cooperation. From jail, she wrote she was "heartbroken" for what she was doing to Brendan. Bob explains how to destroy her credibility and what the prosecution has left if she falls apart.#TrueCrimeToday #BobMotta #NickReiner #BrendanBanfield #DefenseAttorney #InsanityDefense #ReasonableDoubt #StarWitness #CrossExamination #MurderTrialJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISDOES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
15 Jan 1h 6min
Why Nick Reiner’s Story After the Killings Matters More Than You Think
When violent cases break, attention usually locks onto motive and emotion. But analysts often look somewhere else — at what happens after the act. In this episode of True Crime Today, retired FBI Special Agent Robin Dreeke explains why post-offense behavior can reshape how an entire case is understood.Using publicly reported aspects of the Nick Reiner case, Robin breaks down why calm movement, decision-making, and narrative framing after an alleged crime matter. These behaviors don’t cancel mental illness — but they can complicate claims about awareness and control.The episode also explores the broader context: years of treatment cycling, medication changes driven by side effects, and how prolonged instability can reset family expectations. Robin explains why families don’t “miss” warning signs — they adapt to them — and how that adaptation can delay intervention until outcomes are irreversible.This discussion focuses on behavior, not excuses — and why the aftermath often tells the real story.#TrueCrimeToday #NickReiner #RobinDreeke #CrimeAnalysis #BehavioralScienceJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISDOES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
15 Jan 17min
Banfield Trial: Defense Attorney Bob Motta On Attacking Juliana's Testimony | What The Jury Needs To Know
True Crime Today brings you the defense strategy for the most important witness in the Brendan Banfield murder trial. Juliana Peres Magalhaes is the prosecution's case. Without her testimony, they have a forensics expert who contradicted their theory, investigators who were transferred, and 19 months of spinning theories. Defense attorney Bob Motta explains how you destroy her credibility.Juliana spent a year in jail maintaining the same story Brendan told police. Then she flipped. She pleaded to manslaughter. She gets time served. She goes home to Brazil. Her sentencing is scheduled after Banfield's trial — to ensure she continues to cooperate. From jail, she wrote to her mother that she was "heartbroken for doing this to Brendan" and that she loved him.Motta breaks down how you use that letter on cross-examination. He explains how to frame her year-long lie for the jury — is she someone who finally told the truth, or someone who changed lies when the deal was right?The prosecution reduced her charge from second-degree murder to involuntary manslaughter. Motta explains how to make the jury understand the magnitude of what she received in exchange for her testimony.The prosecution is positioning Juliana as a reluctant participant. Motta dismantles that framing. He identifies the biggest mistakes defense attorneys make with cooperating witnesses — and what happens to the state's case if Juliana falls apart on the stand.#BrendanBanfield #JulianaPeresMagalhaes #TrueCrimeToday #BobMotta #DefenseAttorney #StarWitness #CrossExamination #AuPairMurder #PleaDeal #MurderTrialJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISDOES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
14 Jan 19min
Juliana Peres Magalhaes, former Banfield au pair, Continues Testimony in Brendan Banfield Trial — The "Au Pair Affair Murder Trial"
uliana Peres Magalhaes, former Banfield au pair, continued on the stand in the murder trial of Brendan Banfield, the former IRS agent charged with four counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan. Prosecutors allege Banfield and the family's au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, lured Ryan to their Herndon home through a fetish website and staged the killings as a home invasion.The defense argues digital forensics contradict the catfishing theory and that investigators who disagreed were reassigned. Banfield faces life without parole if convicted. The four-week trial continues in Fairfax County.#TrueCrimeToday #BrendanBanfield #AuPairAffair #MurderTrial #ChristineBanfield #JosephRyan #FairfaxCounty #JulianaMagalhaes #Justice #BreakingJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
14 Jan 1h 16min
Juliana Peres Magalhaes Testifies for a Second Day in Brendan Banfield Trial — The "Au Pair Affair Murder Trial" Part 2
Juliana Peres Magalhaes, former Banfield au pair, took the stand in the murder trial of Brendan Banfield, the former IRS agent charged with four counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan. Prosecutors allege Banfield and the family's au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, lured Ryan to their Herndon home through a fetish website and staged the killings as a home invasion.The defense argues digital forensics contradict the catfishing theory and that investigators who disagreed were reassigned. Banfield faces life without parole if convicted. The four-week trial continues in Fairfax County.#TrueCrimeToday #BrendanBanfield #AuPairAffair #MurderTrial #ChristineBanfield #JosephRyan #FairfaxCounty #JulianaMagalhaes #Justice #BreakingJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISDOES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
14 Jan 1h 10min
Juliana Peres Magalhaes Continues Her Testimony in Brendan Banfield Trial — The "Au Pair Affair Murder Trial"
Juliana Peres Magalhaes, former Banfield au pair, took the stand in the murder trial of Brendan Banfield, the former IRS agent charged with four counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan. Prosecutors allege Banfield and the family's au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, lured Ryan to their Herndon home through a fetish website and staged the killings as a home invasion.The defense argues digital forensics contradict the catfishing theory and that investigators who disagreed were reassigned. Banfield faces life without parole if convicted. The four-week trial continues in Fairfax County.#TrueCrimeToday #BrendanBanfield #AuPairAffair #MurderTrial #ChristineBanfield #JosephRyan #FairfaxCounty #JulianaMagalhaes #Justice #BreakingJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISDOES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
14 Jan 1h 28min
Banfield Trial: Defense Attorney Bob Motta Exposes Prosecution Weaknesses | The Path To Reasonable Doubt
True Crime Today brings you the defense perspective on the Brendan Banfield murder trial. Defense attorney Bob Motta breaks down where the prosecution's case is weakest — and how reasonable doubt gets built from the wreckage of a flawed investigation.Officer Brendan Miller — the department's digital forensics expert — analyzed 60 devices and concluded Christine Banfield controlled the FetLife account. Not her husband. His findings were peer-reviewed by the University of Alabama and confirmed. Then he was transferred out of the unit. The lead detective who questioned the catfishing theory was reassigned. Prosecutor Eric Clingan was removed after being cited for drinking at 8 a.m.Clingan admitted on the record that 12 homicide detectives had 24 different theories before the au pair gave her proffer. Motta explains exactly how damaging that admission is — and how the defense exploits it in front of a jury.The prosecution treats the framed photo of Brendan and Juliana as a smoking gun. They're using Banfield's IRS background to argue he knew how to stage a crime scene. Motta explains how defense attorneys flip every piece of that narrative.It took 19 months to charge Brendan Banfield. Investigators were transferred. Evidence was excluded. Theories kept changing. Motta identifies where reasonable doubt lives in this case — and what the jury should be thinking about when they walk into deliberations.#BrendanBanfield #BobMotta #TrueCrimeToday #DefenseAttorney #ChristineBanfield #AuPairMurder #ReasonableDoubt #MurderTrial #CriminalDefense #TrueCrimeNewsJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISDOES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
14 Jan 16min
Nick Reiner Wants the Defense That FREED a Father Who Killed His Son — Here's Why It Might Not Work
David Carmichael strangled his 11-year-old son to death in 2004 after planning the killing, researching murder charges, and expecting decades in prison. The verdict? Not criminally responsible. He walked out of a psychiatric facility after about two years. The reason he's free today could be the same reason Nick Reiner avoids the death penalty—if anyone believes him.The TMZ documentary on the Reiner murders explicitly cited the legal standard that saved Carmichael. Under the M'Naghten rule used in California, the insanity defense doesn't require proving you didn't know right from wrong. It only requires proving you didn't understand the "nature and quality" of your actions. Carmichael knew killing was illegal—but in his psychotic state triggered by Paxil, he believed he was saving his son from suffering. The delusion changed what he thought he was doing.Nick Reiner's schizoaffective disorder medication was reportedly changed one month before the alleged murders after he complained about weight gain. Sources say the change destabilized him profoundly. He now reportedly admits killing his parents but believes his incarceration is a conspiracy against him. Same framework. Same legal standard.But the differences matter. Carmichael had no history of manipulation—Nick has 30 years of it. Carmichael didn't flee—Nick reportedly checked into a hotel and navigated LA for over 24 hours. The defense that freed Carmichael requires credibility. After a lifetime of gaming every system he's encountered, does Nick Reiner have any left?#NickReiner #RobReiner #DavidCarmichael #InsanityDefense #TrueCrimeToday #ReinerMurders #MNaghten #CaliforniaLaw #MentalHealth #TrueCrimeJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISDOES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
14 Jan 24min
